Saturday, 23 November 2013

Last weekend we were lucky enough to be invited to the Odeon Leicester Square for a multi media screening of Frozen, the newest Disney film about to hit our screens in time for Christmas. I always find it so exciting going to see a film before it's full release and the kids were thrilled too. On arrival there were reindeer outside, lots of Christmas trees and fake snow, it made us all feel excited to watch Frozen. Isla loved the reindeer, we didn't get much time with them, so I've made a promise to go find some somewhere before Christmas for her to see.

We took to our seats, the kids had a good rummage through their goody bags, seeking out the chocolate first with the skill of a police sniffer dog! And then we were treated to a live performance of one of the beautiful songs from the film, 'Let it Go' sung by Willemijn Verkaik, who is currently starring in the show Wicked. It was really fantastic, such an emotional song.

Prior to Frozen there was a short film called 'Get a Horse'. It was a mixture of old school Mickey Mouse animation and amazing 3D animation. The kids loved it and so did me and the OH. This was his and Noah's first 3D film experience and he was so good at keeping the glasses on! I always look forward to the film shorts that Disney do before their films and this was a classic.

And now to Frozen. A stunning big-screen comedy adventure. Fearlessoptimist Anna sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom.

The film is loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale The Snow Queen. And when you research back into Disney's connection with The Snow Queen you find out that making a film about this story has been something they've wanted to do since the 1940's. The look of the film is exactly like 'Tangled' (another film we LOVE!) as it is all computer animation. You get a real connection with the characters, and understanding of the torment that both sisters feel at not being close to each other due to Elsa's powers. There is some light comedy in there in the form of Olaf the snowman, he's goofy and cute and provides some good one liners. Anna is also pretty feisty and funny too even in the face of adversity. The story is all about the female characters though, so I'd imagine it's not going to appeal massively to the boys, although at 2 years old Noah seemed to enjoy it!

I would only give one small warning, at times it can be quite a dark film, and I mean this in terms of the storyline and also the actual animation itself, there are lots of scenes in darkness and this combined with 3D and Elsa's Icy powers can make it slightly overwhelming to young ones. There were moments when Isla was slightly scared, but we reassured her that it would all come good in the end. When you ask her now whether she liked the film she says yes, but I was slightly worried at one point when she seemed a bit anxious - and this is a child who has watched many many films. It's a bit like Brave in that respect, she found the scenes with bears scary in that. Don't let this point detract from my view that it is a great film.

Check out the trailer here:

All in all as a family I would say we thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm sure it's going to be a massive hit! Thanks so much for the invite Disney!